1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to guns, and in particular to security mechanisms to ensure proper use of guns. This invention is especially applicable to stun guns, for example stun guns that shoot one or more projectiles.
2. Description of Related Art
In this disclosure, the term “stun gun” is used broadly, and includes not only weapons that merely stun a target, but also weapons that induce electro-muscular disruption, either by firing one or more projectile at a target, or by simply prodding the target.
Typically, two projectiles are connected to a stun gun by respective wires. The user of the stun gun can send an electrical shock to a target via the wires, and may also have the capability to send successive shocks while the wires are still connected to the target. The general idea of a stun gun is well-known. See, for example, Smith (U.S. Pat. No. 6,636,412) which is incorporated herein by reference. Note that some stun guns can additionally be used to prod a target, without need to fire projectiles.
It is known in the art to store the time when a stun gun was fired. See, for example, TASER INTERNATIONAL, Advanced M-Series (www.taser.com/products/advanced01.html) which is incorporated herein by reference, as downloaded on Jul. 19, 2004. Smith's gun also includes a memory unit for recording when the gun has been fired. This data can help to protect lawful possessors of stun guns from claims of excessive force, by providing complete and accurate documentation of the time and date for each firing. This data can be downloaded by law enforcement supervisors, to a personal computer or the like, via a data port download (e.g. input/output port).
One well-known method of propelling the projectiles (e.g. probes) at a target utilizes compressed nitrogen, and these projectiles are connected to the weapon by high-voltage insulated wire. Every time a cartridge is fired, it is known to eject dozens of small confetti-like ID tags, each tag having the serial number of the cartridge fired, thus allowing police departments or other officials to determine which officer fired the cartridge. A drawback to these types of prior art inventions is that merely recording a date and time, and/or discharging informational confetti, will only provide a slight amount of information about the circumstances in which a stun gun is used.
Another major problem with existing stun guns is that they can be misused so as to inflict unnecessary pain, or to unnecessarily incapacitate a target. Although a normal gun (that shoots bullets) will seldom be abused—because its effects are very drastic—a stun gun can be used to inflict temporary pain without long term physical injury. As such, some prior art stun guns can be used as devices to facilitate abuse, or even torture, and therefore better technology is needed to monitor use of these weapons. The present invention helps to fill this need.
If a lawful possessor of a stun gun does not misuse the gun, there is still good reason for such lawful possessors to want to prove that they did not misuse the stun gun, in the event that they are suspected or accused of inappropriate use. Thus, a security system is needed that will provide evidence of how the stun gun was used, preferably producing such evidence in a straightforward and automatic manner. By providing such evidence, stun guns will more likely be appropriately used, especially in situations where lethal force is not required.
It is known in the art to combine a stun gun with a camera. See, for example, Gotfried (U.S. Pat. No. 6,823,621) which is incorporated by reference herein. Gotfried discloses that the camera is automatically activated when a gun is fired, or when a user places a finger on the trigger, or by remote activation. Gotfried's activation process can occur at predetermined intervals, and it can also include activation of a microphone. Gotfried does not disclose any way to capture a view of both the user and the target, whereas it is often important for evidentiary purposes to ascertain not just the behavior of the target but also the identity of the gun user. Additionally, Gotfried does not disclose any way to automatically activate a gun before a user places a finger on the trigger, during which time many significant events may be occurring in view of the gun.
Although Gotfried discloses wireless transmission of collected images, it is also known in the art to record collected images using a recording system within a stun gun. See, for example, the TASER INTERNATIONAL, Video Digital Power Magazine or VDPM (http://www.taser.com/press/releases/vdpm.html) which is incorporated herein by reference, as downloaded on Dec. 10, 2004. Nevertheless, the VDPM does not address or solve any of the problems identified above with respect to the other prior art.